Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Defense Nguyen Chi Vinh gave remarks on Sunday morning at the fourth plenary session of the 15^th Asia Security Summit in Singapore, warning of “complicated factors” threatening regional security and calling for enhanced cooperation to resolve disputes.

Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh, Deputy Minister of National Defense, who led the Vietnamese delegation to the 15^th Asia Security Summit in Singapore, delivered a speech at the session ‘The Challenges of Conflict Resolution.’

Running from June 3 to 6, the summit, also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, welcomed defense officials from around 30 nations across the Asia-Pacific region and the world to discuss strategic issues, resolve differences, and seek potential cooperation.

Risks of military conflicts

The defense official began his speech by pointing out existing complicated factors threatening regional security that should not be overlooked such as terrorism, nuclear threats, border disputes, territory, maritime security, and non-traditional security challenges.

According to Vinh, disputes in the region have given rise to concerns, and potential signs of conflict outbreaks should be timely foreseen, prevented, and resolved.

“Such a situation is caused by differences in interests and the strategic ambitions and competitions that develop in a negative direction regardless of international law,” Vinh said. “It is inconsistency in statements and actions, the differences and inequality in the resolution of disputes. Furthermore, there are imposing behaviors and the selfish pursuit of interests without considering the interests of other nations, the region, and the international community.”

The senior lieutenant general stressed that such negative and unpredictable signs, should they not be effectively resolved, would lead to tensions and eventually military conflicts.

Vinh called for cooperation in settling differences on the basis of mutual development and mutual strategic interests of each nation and the region.

The Vietnamese defense official also underscored the significance of unity, the central and leading role of ASEAN and its member states as well as that of relevant nations, especially big countries that stand for peace and justice.

ASEAN, or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic organization of ten member nations, which are Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.

Senior Lieutenant General Vinh reaffirmed Vietnam’s undertaking to enhance cooperation with China and other nations involved in the disputes to build and strengthen trust and seek common grounds in strategic interests.

Multichannel dialogue

Deputy Minister Vinh asserted that there are still areas of dispute and difference between China and some member nations of ASEAN, including Vietnam, who have sovereignty claims over islands in the East Vietnam Sea.

Deputy Minister Vinh stressed, however, that Vietnam would always stick to its stance of safeguarding its territory, security, and maritime and aviation safety by peaceful measures in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Vietnam Sea (DOC).

After the speech, a Filipino scholar asked Vinh whether bilateral talks helped in the resolution of such disputes, to which the Vietnamese deputy defense minister responded affirmatively, citing the dispute between Vietnam and China over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago, which involves only the two nations.

“In disputes that involve many nations, however, such as in the case of Truong Sa [Spratlys], all claimants should participate in dialogue instead of keeping it between only Vietnam and China,” Vinh explained, adding, “As for regional and international issues such as maritime safety and security, the dialogue must be multilateral.”

“Bilateral or multilateral, what Vietnam expects from dialogue is a peaceful and constructive attitude towards the process of peace and development for all parties involved.”

Speaking with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper, Dr. Alexey D. Muraviev, head of the Department of Social Sciences and Security Studies at Curtin University, Australia, highly regarded Vietnam’s clear message of resolving differences and disputes by constructive dialogue.

Muraviev asserted that Vietnam’s messages at this year’s Shangri-La Dialogue are more active and balanced in addressing East Vietnam Sea disputes.

Meanwhile, Assistant Professor Richard Javad Heydarian from the Political Science Department at De La Salle University in the Philippines said Vinh’s remarks had been quite gentle and polite.

Heydarian said he had expected the speech by the Vietnamese deputy defense minister to send a stronger and more direct message to Beijing since Chinese Admiral Sun Jianguo in his own remarks had used very strong words to criticize the U.S. and the Philippines.

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